Jumping beetle
Location: Nicaragua, Managua, El Crucero ( 12° 3’45.68”N – 86°18’51.68”W)
January 30, 2012 5:49 pm
Dear Bugman,
This beetle emits a click sound when movin violently its head, the movement makes the beetle to jump a few centimeters high.
Signature: Sergiortc
Click Beetle
Dear Sergiotc,
The audible clicking sound this beetle makes has given rise to the common name Click Beetles for the members of the family Elateridae. Click Beetles are able to flex their bodies at the joint between the thorax and abdomen if they ever find themselves on their backs. The action propels them into the air and they generally land on their feet after the first attempt.
Garden Visitor
Location: Puerto Rico
January 31, 2012 1:30 am
All creepy crawlies are welcomed in my little garden, saw this little guy today and found him so bright and cute that I had to take a pic, would be great to know it’s name.
Signature: Nana JoGoFe
Unknown Longicorn
Dear Nana JoGoFe,
We can tell you that this is some species of Longicorn or Longhorned Borer Beetle in the family Cerambycidae, however, our initial internet search has not turned up any matching images from Puerto Rico. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist in a species identification. For now, a family will have to suffice. The coloration is quite distinctive, and we don’t believe a proper identification will prove entirely elusive.
Unknown Longicorn
Identification courtesy of Karl
February 5, 2012
Hi Daniel and Nana JoGoFe:
It appears to be a longicorn in the genus Chlorida, probably C. festiva. It is a very wide-ranging species found from southern Florida to Argentina, including much of the Caribbean. Regards. Karl
Thanks Karl,
We suppose the genus name Chlorida refers to the green coloration. We also found a nice image on American Insects.
Pacific Green Sphinx Moth
Location: Mariposa, California
January 30, 2012 11:27 pm
Dear Bugman,
I took these photos of this beautiful green moth last night, and I found this site while attempting to identify him. He was in the garage, on a damp towel I needed to launder, so I coaxed him onto my hand and took some photos.
Signature: Laura Pound
Pacific Green Sphinx
Dear Laura,
Thanks so much for sending your photos of a lovely Pacific Green Sphinx, Arctonotus lucidus, also known as the Bear Sphinx according to Bill Oehlke’s website, the Sphingidae of the Americas. We are going to copy Bill on our response in the event he wants to include your sighting data in the comprehensive database he is keeping. Winter sightings seem most common.
Pacific Green Sphinx
Another unknown spider
Location: Nicaragua, Managua, El Crucero ( 12° 3’45.68”N – 86°18’51.68”W)
January 30, 2012 5:47 pm
Dear Bugman,
Can you tell me what’s that spider I found in mi kitchen?
Signature: Sergiortc
Huntsman Spider
Dear Sergiotc,
We believe this is a Giant Crab Spider in the family Sparassidae, a group sometimes called Huntsman Spiders.
Stick Insect bug
Location: Bushland in Western Victoria
January 29, 2012 12:53 am
Hello,
I’ve discovered a bug that seems to belong to the Phasmatodea family, but because it has legs like a grasshopper (it jumps pretty fast) i’m not sure what family it belongs to let alone its genus or species. Could you identify this bug and inform me of what it feeds on?
Thanks
Signature: Jordan
Green Grass Pyrgomorph
Dear Jordan,
We believe we have correctly identified your Grasshopper as a Green Grass Pyrgomorph in the genus Atractomorpha based on photographs posted to the Brisbane Insect Website which indicates: “This grasshopper is also known as Vegetable Grasshopper. They are common in Brisbane and easily found on grasses and other garden plants.” The site also states: “The Vegetable Grasshoppers feed on different type of leaves, mainly on dicotyledonous plants.”
dragon fly?
Location: bay area, CA
January 29, 2012 6:20 pm
Hi,
I found this thing in our laundry room under a pile of clothes which had been sitting on the ground for about 4 days.
It looks like a new born bug because it shiny and fragile looking – but it’s rather large. Body is about 1 cm and head is 1/3 size of the body.
This is the second one of these I’ve found in our house in the last 1 year.
The first one was found in the washer – dead. It was larger than this one pictured.
It’s not clear yet if this an indoor bug that got in or an indoor bug period.
Looking at google, I see some dragon fly resemblance.
Please help.
Signature: i don’t care
Potato Bug
Dear i don’t care,
This is a Potato Bug or Jerusalem Cricket. It is classified in the insect order Orthoptera along with grasshoppers and crickets. Dragonflies have wings and they are classified in the insect order Odonata. Potato Bugs are subterranean dwellers that often wander indoors during or shortly after a rain.
What’s this bug ?
Location: Vancouver BC
January 29, 2012 7:21 pm
Hello. At Christmas time I bought a Douglas fir and found a cocoon on it, which I housed in a jar. The cocoon opened today with this not-a-butterfly bug. 4 wings. 2 larger ones and 2 sort of smaller fairy wings on top. About an inch long. I was hoping that you could please help me identify it. I don’t know where the trees were grown. I tried to take some photos but he won’t sit still. He likes honey. The cocoon is in the photo. Thank you a lot !
Signature: Rhonda
Sawfly emerges from Cocoon
Dear Rhonda,
We are able to identify your insect as a Sawfly. Sawflies are nonstinging relatives of bees and wasps that often have larvae that are mistaken for caterpillars. Your individual most closely resembles the Cimbicid Sawflies (see BugGuide), possibly even the Elm Sawfly, though it looks more to us like a member of the genus Trichiosoma which we also found on BugGuide. The Cimbicid Sawflies are the largest North American Sawflies and they have clubbed antennae like your individual, but the information we have found does not list Douglas Fir as a host plant for the larvae. They feed on deciduous plants including elm, honeysuckle and cherry according to BugGuide. We did do a search for Sawflies that feed on Douglas Fir and we found an Oregon State webpage devoted to members of the genus Neodiprion, called the Douglas Fir Sawflies or Balsam Fir Sawflies, however the images posted to BugGuide do not resemble your individual. It is entirely possible that your Sawfly was feeding on another plant and somehow the cocoon was spun on the Douglas Fir. The Forestry Images Website indicates of the genus Cimbex (and so possibly also other members of the family Cimbicidae) that “The larvae spin tough, papery cocoons in the litter or just below the surface of the soil.” There is also a photo of the cocoon of a Cimbex Sawfly on the Forestry Images website that looks like your cocoon.
Sawfly emerges from Cocoon
We are hoping that one of our readers will eventually be able to assist us in a more definitive identification.
Cimbex Sawfly
Dear Daniel
Thank you so much for your help. I will do my best to keep him alive until the weather warms up. Too bad he doesn’t like roses or lettuce or anything else that’s lurking about in my fridge. He is quite an inquisitive little bug and checks out everything I give him.
Thanks again,
Rhonda
moth ID
Location: Termeil,NSW….state forest
January 30, 2012 8:18 am
translucent bug,2.5” long,turned up before rain not long after sunset,temp 30C plenty other bugs around,attracted to light…and there’s another moth and a Longhorn Beetle all in the one night.
Signature: Bugger
Ghost Moth
Dear Bugger,
Taxonomically, your three creatures are in three different insect orders, which screws around with our method of archiving postings, however, they are significant in that all three appeared in one night, so we are making an exception and keeping the posting intact. Your moth that is on the shoe is a Ghost Moth in the family Cossidae, and they are also called Goat Moths, Carpenter Moths or Wood Moths according to the Butterfly House website. The larvae are called Witchety Grubs. We just posted a letter yesterday with seven awesome images of a mating pair of Ghost Moths, so it would seem they are currently in season in Australia.
Poinciana Longicorn
We are nearly certain that your beetle is a Poinciana Longicorn, Agrianome spinicollis, and the larva is another wood boring grub. The photo from the Agriculture of Western Australia website is a match. The Queensland Museum website states: “This species is found in rainforest and open forest in eastern Australia. It is common in Queensland and New South Wales and also occurs on Lord Howe Island. The larvae are huge white grubs found in rotten wood, especially dead Poinciana or fig trees. It is an important pest of pecan trees. The large adults sometimes blunder into house lights. Identification Length 60 mm. This is a very large, broad longhorned beetle with khaki wing-covers and a reddish-brown thorax edged with a row of pointed ‘teeth’. The antennae are a little longer than the body.”
Your final insect is some species of Antlion in the family Myrmeleontidae and you can see some examples on the Brisbane Insect website. We believe it is most likely Heoclisis fundata which is pictured on Dave’s Garden.
Antlion
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